To Rule Them All
by MickDunD
Summary: The statue Tatsumi was given by the village elder contained a secret; an ancient ring that contained a power not seen since the beginning of the empire. Will he use this power for good? Or will he succumb to its darkness like so many others?


Chapter 1: Kill the Drug-Smugglers

Tatsumi POV

"Ow...ow...ow…" he groaned as he limped back to his room, his head throbbing with every step he took.

He had just tried out the Teigu "Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator" that they had taken from Zank the Beheader. While he had to admit the eye had pretty cool abilities, its rejection had left him with a splitting headache.

_Lubba would have a heart attack if he knew Spectator could see through clothes, _he thought with a grin. _Though I wonder who he would use it on…?_

"Hey, Tatsumi!"

He turned around and was immediately assaulted by a pair of squishy warm orbs smashing into his face.

"Big sis Leone, owowowow!" he yelped as she suddenly grabbed him in a tight hug, sending all his blood straight to his throbbing head.

"Oh, lighten up," the blonde assassin said, dragging him towards the kitchen. "Come on and have a drink with me."

A few seconds later, she had plopped him down in the living room and poured them both a gigantic mug of malt beer from the base's private stock.

"Sucks about Spectator," she sighed, gulping down her beer. "Fuwah! That's some strong stuff."

"Yeah," he chuckled, taking a sip of his own drink. "But I don't think a Teigu like that would work well with me even if it did accept me."

"Oh, so you read Lubba's book already?" she asked.

He nodded. "There are so many Teigu," he said, remembering the pictures and descriptions in Lubbock's tome of Teigu. "And they're all really powerful...I have no idea where to begin on where to get one."

"Ah, don't rush it," she said, patting him on the back. "You'll find one soon."

"I'll have to," he said bitterly, taking another slug. "If I don't, then I'll just be a dead weight to the rest of you."

Leone paused for a moment mid-chug and then set her glass down. She then got up and moved over to him.

"Leone?" he asked as she clambered into the seat next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're not dead weight Tatsumi," she said, hugging him. "And you never will be. Besides…"

She playfully licked his ear. "You're mine~"

"Big sis…" he said reaching up and grabbing the back of her head, awkwardly returning her hug.

"Hmmmm nyaaaaa~" she purred softly as he rubbed her head.

He blinked. "Leone, did you just purr?"

"What? No I did not!" she said blushing an indignant red.

"Yes you did, you totally purred!" he laughed, squirming out of his chair and heading towards the common area. "Hey Lubba! Big bro! You've got to hear this!"

"_Tatsumiiiiiii!"_ Leone yelled, leaping after him.

She chased him all around the base, using Lionelle to run him down before he could even get close to telling. What happened next, he was not particularly proud of…

"Ow! Big sis, cut it out! OW!" he yelped as Leone finished tying up the last knot. She had tied him up to one of Bulat's training posts, a furious blush on her face as she worked. "Seriously, Leone this hurts!"

"What's going on out here?" asked Lubbock as he walked out of the base. "Oh...its just you two…"

"Lubba, you've got to hear this!" he said, momentarily forgetting about his current predicament. "Leone purrs when you rub her-YEOWWWWW!"

Leone had made a split-second decision and kicked him in the balls to keep him quiet. Off on the sidelines, Lubbock just stood there with a sweatdrop.

"Tatsumi always gets the hot girls," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away with a little storm cloud over his head.

"Leone, what the hell was that for?" he snapped, tears streaming down his cheeks. _I think she popped one…_

The feline assassin just grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "You can _never_ tell anyone about that," she said in a deathly serious tone.

"Why? What's so bad about that?" he asked.

"Because it's embarrassing!" she said. "Look, just keep your mouth shut, please?!"

"Alright, alright, fine," he said. "Now let me go!"

"Noooope," she said, playfully popping the 'p,' "You're going to stay there for a bit and think about what you've done."

"Leone!" he protested but she was already gone.

It was nightfall when everyone else noticed he was gone, and that was just because it was his turn to cook dinner. Six hours spent tied to a pole and the only reason they remembered him was that he was the cook! He had never felt so mad! In fact he was so mad that he asked Akame to bring the food to the table all by herself...no one ate very much that night, courtesy of the black hole that was their resident swordswoman.

_They would have remembered me if I had a Teigu, _he thought angrily storming to his room and slamming the door.

The door crashed into its frame a lot harder than he had expected, the impact shaking the entire room. He heard a crash from the far side of his bed and looked over to see the clay idol he had gotten from his village elder had fallen from his bedside table and shattered against the floor.

"Ah, damnit," he groaned, sitting down hard on the edge of his bed and putting his head in his hands. "I really am dead weight…"

He suddenly blinked, staring down at the broken pieces of the figure. There was a glint of light shining from beneath a piece of clay. Slowly, he knelt down and lifted it off, revealing a gold ring underneath.

"What the…?" he whispered, reaching down and picking it up.

The gold felt warm in his hand, warm like a hot bath felt after a cold day hiking. The metal seemed to shine brightly in the low light from the window, the gold glint dancing across his face as he turned it over in his fingers. It felt strangely familiar to him...like he had seen it before…like it had called to him.

"BAM-BAM-BAM!" "TATSUMI!"

He jolted from his reverie and automatically slid the ring into his pocket as Leone opened the door. "We've got a request to kill someone in the capital!" she said. "Boss says you and I are gonna take this one ourselves."

"O-okay," he gulped.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, sweating a little. "You just startled me a bit."

She just shrugged and slipped out into the hallway. "Just be at the gate by three in the morning," she called.

"Right," he said, listening to her footsteps fade. As soon as he was sure she was gone, he pulled the ring from his pocket and stared at it, softly rubbing it between his fingers.

"What are you?" he asked it softly as evening slipped by into darkness.

**Hours Later**

"You're oddly quiet tonight," Leone mused as the two of them walked along the Capital's slums.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," he said with a sheepish smile. "I've got a lot on my mind right now."

Leone shrugged and kept walking, waving to all the people who knew her and flirting with a few of the boys who called out proposals of romance. He didn't really care about that at the moment. His mind was currently fixated on the gold ring in his pocket and that strange sensation it gave him. He shook his head and looked at the road ahead of them.

_Focus on the mission_, he thought, pushing the ring from his mind.

"So our targets are drug smugglers?" he asked as they climbed to the roof of a nearby bar.

"Yeah," she nodded. "According to reports, they kidnap girls from the slums and get them addicted...then they use them as prostitutes for their rich clients."

"Scumbags," he muttered, watching as Leone activated Lionelle, her hair lengthening as she gained paws, ears, and a tail. "Lets take them down."

She gave him a feline smirk as she grabbed his waist. "Hold on!" she warned as she dashed forwards across the roof and into the window of the nightclub that the drug smugglers uses as a headquarters.

"Infiltration complete!" she smiled, dropping him to the ground. "Let's do this!"

"Right," he nodded, popping his sword from its sheath and following her around to the staircase to the main floor.

As they walked down the hallway, he could hear sounds from the rooms they passed. Some of them were loud, lewd, and vulgar; the sound of the girls being taken advantage of. And others were soft intakes of breath and loud sighs; the sound of people smoking the opium provided by the gang. He was disgusted by all of it, which made it a lot easier on his conscience to kill these gangsters.

He followed Leone to the central landing, right above the club's main office. Through a ceiling panel, the looked down into the office to see their targets all sitting around a desk smoking cigars.

"The Prime Minister's asked for another shipment for his party next week," one of them said. "Plus he wants eighteen of the girls for his personal use."

"So we give 'em to him," said the boss. "He's been generous to us this month. Lets give him a little extra…besides…"

He reached around and smacked a serving girl on her ass. "There's plenty more bitches down in the slums to replace the eighteen he wants," he laughed. "Let's live it up a little!"

Leone suddenly burst through the ceiling, landing hard on the floor in front of the desk.

"Sorry," she said with a dark snarl. "But looks like you won't be living much longer."

"Kill her!" someone cried, drawing a gun.

Leone blurred forwards, ripping the man's arm off as she slashed his throat with her claws. He blinked and jumped down after her, slashing the two bodyguards who had been standing by the door. He bent backwards, narrowly avoiding a bullet fired from the second in command. He looked over and saw a secret door opening behind the desk, the boss of the gang quickly vanishing through it.

"Leone, don't let him escape!" he called, decapitating the man next to him.

"Got it!" she yelled, dashing through the door.

"So that leaves me with you guys, huh?" he said, looking at the men around him.

"It's just a kid," one of them said.

"We can take him," another agreed. "He's dead!"

The eight of them attacked in unison, bringing out shortswords and small firearms as they lunged at him. He cursed and jumped backwards, parrying a few slashed and retaliating with his own. He winced as one of them landed a lucky hit on his shoulder, the knife biting into the muscle.

"We got him!" the goons cheered, regrouping for another attack.

He grimaced and gripped his shoulder. There were too many of them for him to take on his own.

_Big Bro and Akame would have not trouble dealing with these guys,_ he thought angrily. _I really need a Teigu if I ever want to catch up with them!_

Suddenly he blinked, feeling something warm wash through his body. Had one of them stabbed him again? He looked down and checked himself for another wound. To his surprise, he found none.

"Wasssamatter, punk?" one of them slurred, spinning his sword. "Loose ya nerve?"

He looked down to his pocket, where the warmth was emanating from. Slowly, he dipped his hand in and pulled out the ring. It was much warmer than before and the sensation was much stronger. He slowly held it up to his finger, his hand shaking slightly, and slid the ring on.

**THAT VERY MOMENT…**

**FAR TO THE NORTH**

Esdeath looked over her shoulder, feeling a strange warm sensation wash over her body. For some reason she felt like something was calling to her...something familiar that she hadn't felt for a long time...but she had no idea what it was. All she knew was that the sensation was one of the most heavenly things she had ever felt.

She felt a twinge in her chest right where her tattoo was, noticing that Demon's Extract had suddenly become restless. She was thoroughly surprised by this. The Teigu had not moved on its own since she first used and tamed it. For it to awaken like this was nothing short of a miracle.

"Lady Esdeath?"

She blinked and looked over at River, who had just ridden up next to her with a concerned look on his face.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

She shook her head and felt Demon's Extract quiet down inside her. "Everything is fine, River," she said, looking back at the frozen wasteland to the north.

The ex-general simply bowed his head and fell back into his place in line next to Daidara. Once his eyes were off her, she allowed herself a small scowl as the feeling suddenly vanished.

_What was that?_ she thought. _No matter. I'll find out after dealing with the Northerners. _

**BACK WITH TATSUMI**

The moment he put it on everything changed.

The world vanished in a flash of white, fading to a dull gray color that blanketed the entire office.

"What the? Where'd he go?" the thugs yelled, their voices slightly distorted for some reason.

He looked over at them and gasped. He could no longer see their bodies, only vaguely humanoid shapes the same color as tar. He looked down at his hand, seeing that he was still colored right...and so was his sword. He looked back at the thugs who were still standing in the same place.

"Well, if they won't attack," he mused, dashing at them and stabbing the lead one through the throat. "I will!"

The thug crumpled like a house of cards, blood spurting from his severed jugular. The other goons yelped like a bunch of frightened puppies.

"Ghosht!" one of them slurred. "Run for it!"

"Oh no you don't!" he roared, dashing forwards and dispatching each of them with the finesse of a surgeon. Blood spurted through the air as he swung his blade, aiming their vitals for a quick kill. His entire body suddenly felt fifty pounds lighter and yet six times stronger. His fifteen-pound steel sword felt like a pocketknife now. It had to be the ring.

_Is it a Teigu?_ he thought, looking down at the gold band around his finger. _It wasn't in Lubba's book...maybe its one of the lost ones?_

"Tatsumi?"

He turned around and saw Leone walking back in, her body distorted and a bright white color.

"Wow, what a bloodbath," she whistled, looking around at the bodies on the floor. "Oi, Tatsumi! Don't tell me you left before me!"

"Leone, I'm right here!" he yelled, pulling the ring off his finger. Right away, the world returned to color.

"Whoa!" she jumped a little as he took off the ring. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"You just appeared out of nowhere," she told him. "How'd you turn invisible like that?"

"I...don't know," he admitted, looking down at the gold band in his palm. "I think it might have something to do with this thing."

Leone cocked her head and looked at it. "Well, whatever it is, figure it out later," she said, moving towards the stars. "The CDF will definitely have heard the sounds and are probably on their way here."

"Right, we should get out of here," he said, running after her as they left the way that they had come in.

The trip back out of the capital was not easy. The CDF were questioning everyone everywhere about the "massacre" that had occurred in the slums the night before. They had to hide out in Lubba's bookstore for three days before the streets were clear enough for them to sneak out and return to the hideout.

"We're _baaaaack!" _Leone called cheerfully as they walked back into the meeting room. "Mission complete!"

"Boss?" he asked, looking around at everyone in the room. "What's wrong?"

No one said anything. He looked at everyone one at a time, noticing somber expressions on all faces. Then he noticed something else...something that was missing.

"Where's Sheele?" he asked.

Najenda grimaced and looked away, Lubbock mirroring her expression. Bulat sighed and shook his head. Akame just stared at the floor blankly in complete and total silence. Mine just stood in silence, staring blankly at the wall. She was heavily bandaged, her right arm completely swathed in cloth.

"No…" he whispered, his legs wobbling.

Najenda nodded slowly. "She was taken out by a member of the CDF," she said. "Apparently she had tracked Sheele and Mine to and from their target, ambushing them with a Teigu. Sheele sacrificed herself to save Mine."

"What about her Teigu?" Leone asked, swallowing down her emotions.

"Taken," she sighed. "And probably sealed in the Imperial Vaults. Unless it finds a new user, Extase will never see the light of day again."

Tatsumi's legs finally gave out, falling onto his knees with a gasp. Sheele was dead...killed...hunted down like an animal by the Empire. His shock slowly began to ebb away into anger...that anger slowly boiling over into full-on hate.

"Who was she?" he asked in a cold tone.. "The person who killed Sheele...what was her name?"

"Why do you want to know that?" Bulat spoke.

"So I can kill her myself," he said.

What came next, he was not expecting. Bulat blurred across the room and punched him square in the jaw, knocking him back to the ground.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT!?" he yelled.

"Big...bro?" he said, looking up. "What was that for?"

"For being a reckless idiot," he said, folding his arms. "Think for a moment here! You want to go charging into the capital, which is still on high alert, to murder a ranking officer of the CDF, who is also a Teigu user."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing!" he said, whacking him again. "You may have potential, Tatsumi, but there's nothing you can do right now. Believe me, we all want to avenge Sheele, but acting rashly will only be our own downfall."

"Bulat's right," Najenda sighed, lighting a cigarette and puffing on it. "We'll lay low for a few days, but we will put Sheele's killer on our own hit list. If we come across her, we _will_ kill her."

She looked at him with a compassionate expression. "Tatsumi, I know that Sheele was your friend...hell, she was a friend to all of us. We will avenge her...but not right now."

He grit his teeth in anger. He wanted to just run out of there and take revenge on his own...but he knew they were right. And even if he had a Teigu now, he was no match for an experienced fighter.

"Okay," he said standing up.

"Good," Najenda said. "Leone, your report?"

"Oh yeah!" Leone said. "Mission was a complete success, boss! Target was eliminated under the operation time thanks to Tatsumi...and his new Teigu!"

Everyone blinked and looked at him. "Explain," Lubbock said, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

Tatsumi nodded and showed them the ring, explaining how he'd found it and what had happened when he put it on; how everyone acted like they couldn't see him and that he was a lot stronger and faster while wearing it.

"Leone, can you confirm this?" Bulat asked once he was done speaking.

"Yeah, he just suddenly appeared out of thin air with that ring in his hand," she said. "I couldn't even smell him with Lionelle. It was like he was a ghost."

"Well, this doesn't sound like any Teigu I've heard of," Lubbock said, flipping through his book of Teigu. "Perhaps its one of the lost ones? Anyway, the only real way to find out is to take a look at the Emperor's book, and that's not happening any time soon. I'll see what I can dig up, but don't expect much."

Najenda nodded and turned back to him. "Tatsumi, for now I want you to train with that ring until you discover all of its abilities," she said. "Once you've mastered it, you can take missions again, got it?"

"Got it, boss," he said, looking down at the gold band in his palm as everyone got up and began to disperse about the base. He walked back to his room and sat down on his bed, rubbing his thumb over the shiny gold. Again, he got the feeling that he had seen this before...a long time ago in a different place. The ring seemed to give off a content hum in his hands as he touched it.

"What are you?" he asked for the second time.

Slowly, he lifted it back to his finger, gently sliding it on again.

**To The North**

Esdeath blinked and looked behind her as that same feeling from before washed over her; a warmth that spread from her fingers down to her toes. Again, Demons Extract began stirring inside her. She looked back to the south again, staring beyond the borders of her army's camp towards the center of the empire. A small smile crept onto her face as she enjoyed the warmth, but as soon as it came, it was gone.

Her eyes narrowed in frustration. Again it was gone and now the cold of the north bit into her bones even fiercer. Had she not have grown up in the frozen tundra farther north, she might have shivered.

_I want to feel it again_, she thought to herself, lifting her hand to her chest. _That feeling...I want it again. _

With that resolution set in her mind, she turned and walked back towards her command tent to devise a quick and easy plan for crushing the northerners. The sooner she was done here, the sooner she could return south and find the source of that feeling.


End file.
